A Nizhny Novgorod banker who set up an illegal lending system was put on the wanted list

The deputy manager of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of Otkritie Bank, Damir Salekhov, has been put on the federal wanted list. So far, investigative authorities suspect the banker of stealing 17 million rubles. using fake payment orders. Meanwhile, the investigation has suspicions that Damir Salekhov was part of a group that actually created an entire system of non-bank lending to some clients at the expense of others and subsequent cashing out. Claims against the bank totaling RUB 150 million. nominated several organizations that were allegedly underpaid by the escaped manager. Otkritie Bank, in turn, asked another fifty banks, whose clients may have been participants in dubious monetary transactions, to block the accounts of transit companies.

As reported by the Nizhny Novgorod regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the fact of fraudulent theft of 17 million rubles. A criminal case has been initiated against the deputy manager of the bank's operational office. As Kommersant learned, we are talking about Damir Salekhov, who oversaw corporate clients in the regional office of Otkritie Bank in recent years. According to the police, in collusion with other unidentified persons, he stole 17 million rubles by submitting fake payment orders to his bank: on his instructions, the money was transferred to the accounts of third-party companies and cashed out. Damir Salekhov himself was put on the federal wanted list - on April 23, he disappeared, leaving his wife a note saying that he was “tired of everything” and was leaving the family. He took with him a sports bag, documents and a laptop. It is curious that the banker’s relatives were the first to contact the police with a request to find him.

Meanwhile, as a source close to the investigation told Kommersant, an analysis of what happened at the Otkritie bank branch revealed a whole network of dubious cash-out transactions, in which clients of a number of other banks were involved - settlement accounts of transit companies were opened in them, which, it is possible, were one-day ones created only for cashing out. According to Kommersant’s interlocutor, with the participation of Mr. Salekhov, a non-bank lending system was actually organized: when any organization approached him at Otkritie for a short-term loan, the deputy manager, bypassing the bank, offered it quick loans, negotiating with other clients who had free funds in accounts, interest and terms. As a result, the company that agreed to become a creditor transferred money to the borrower company through a number of transit companies: transfers were often formalized as payment under contracts for the supply of meat or metal structures. Then, along the same chain, the borrower repaid the debt with interest, and through transit companies, Mr. Salekhov withdrew part of the funds as a reward for himself, as well as for paying interest to all persons involved in the chain.

“For some time, approximately since the fall of last year, this system worked without failures, and colossal funds were pumped and cashed through it. Suffice it to say that the settlement accounts of companies engaged in cashing, through which monetary transactions were carried out, were opened in 52 banks - among them there are branches of large state banks and foreign banking groups. In the spring, Damir Salekhov, for some reason, experienced a cash gap in this system, interruptions in payments began to a number of clients, and in April this pyramid collapsed. On the morning when he escaped, several large clients came to the bank to look for him, he promised them that he would give everything back that day,” the source told Kommersant. The investigation suggests that the disappeared banker was only one of the participants in an extensive organization for cashing out funds. As a result, Otkritie Bank filed complaints against Damir Salekhov and claims totaling 150 million rubles. About a dozen affected organizations contacted us. “We are almost sure that most of them voluntarily participated in the illegal lending scheme and therefore are in no hurry to file statements as part of the criminal investigation,” a source familiar with the investigation told Kommersant.

By the way, the bank itself noticed the suspicious activity of shell companies back in February, and Otkritie’s management instructed the Nizhny Novgorod office to solve this problem by closing their accounts. However, the local management did not comply with this order in a timely manner, and therefore the bank made personnel decisions - they parted ways with the manager, whom Damir Salekhov himself was supposed to follow in May. When the situation with the falsification of payment documents was revealed, the bank fired several more employees. According to Kommersant's information, the top management of Otkritie Bank, whose internal services uncovered part of the underground financial system, also sent letters to the management of another fifty banks with requests to block the accounts of transit companies opened with them, freezing the balance of funds on them.

Otkritie Bank did not comment on this situation, only noting that they are extremely interested in an objective investigation and are providing all possible assistance to the investigation. “We intend to protect the interests of truly affected clients,” Otkritie added.

Roman Kryazhev, Nizhny Novgorod

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